Tag Archives: Hammering Man

Bordering Downtown Seattle is the historic neighborhood of Pioneer Square. To take advantage of the extremely warm and sunny weather, the H and I decided to explore this beautifully-restored district on foot, as it was just about 12 blocks away from our hotel.

One of the pluses to walking around town is being able to discover many new and interesting sights along the way. On our way to Pioneer Square, we passed by this really neat park across the street from the Westlake Mall that had trees painted in bright blue! Eye-catching, right? :)

We saw a chess game in progress as well…

We also saw this massive glass structure–it’s pretty hard to ignore because it is one of the biggest and most modern buildings on the street. Apparently, it’s the public library! Ganda diba, and very impressive! I’m really glad that despite the advancement of technology and its effects on bookstores, it seems that there will be a home for printed books in Seattle for a long time to come :).

On a side note, I was also drawn to this three-piece sculpture by Henry Moore called Vertebrae, right outside the library.I must say, I was really enjoying all the street art!

As we were nearing Pioneer Square, we passed by the Smith Tower. It was once the tallest building in Seattle’s skyline. It’s observation deck can still be accessed to this day, and offers beautiful, sweeping views of the Puget Sound.

Finally, when we arrived at our destination, we were greeted by the sight of this beautiful, century-old pergola.

Pioneer Square was horrifically damaged during the Great Fire of 1889, so many of the structures that are erected in the area today are a result of its re-building. In the 1970’s, artists helped to further revitalize Pioneer Square, transforming it from what was once a place full of brothels, to an artist’s haven. I guess that explains the abundance of public parks, outdoor art, and pedestrian-friendly streets :).

After getting our fill of photographs, the H and I decided to make our way back to the downtown area for some shopping! :) This time, we decided to take a different route so we could see more of the streets and sights of Seattle.

We passed a bunch of interesting and beautiful shops, and we eventually walked past the Seattle Art Museum and its incredibly tall “Hammering Man” (his arm actually makes a pounding motion!). Apparently, he works all day, everyday, except Labor Day. Hahaha! Kidding aside, I was really impressed that Seattle seemed to have a very nice public museum, and a pretty big collection of outdoor art installations. Too bad we didn’t have time to see most of them, nor the exhibits.

By this time, and after all the walking we’d done, the H and I were in dire need of something to cool us down. We wanted to sample some of the local treats, and were lucky to find an ice cream place right by Downtown!

After a heaping scoop of Molly Moon’s Earl Grey and Chocolate Ice Cream for myself, and an affogatto for the H, we were ready to do some major credit card damage! Hahaha!

And that, pretty much, concluded our sightseeing tour of Seattle :). On to the shopping!!!